Wicked Games
by BrutusXEnobaria
Summary: Brutus is willing to do anything to make Cashmere regret dumping him. Even if it means going out with the school's lonely freak, Enobaria. And to top it all off, Finnick makes a bet with Brutus. But will what once was a fake relationship turn into true feelings? Will Brutus actually end up falling for Enobaria? BrutusXEnobaria
1. Chapter 1

**WICKED GAMES**

"I'm sorry, Brutus, I made my choice," Cashmere stated.

"You're going to do this just because I slept with another girl last night?" She nodded. "Well, how many times have you slept with someone else that's not me?"

Cashmere stayed silent. He knew more than anyone that she's been hooking up with other guys, even when we they together. They weren't necessarily together, they were just fuck buddies. "I need a break from you."

"Are you even thinking straight?" Clearly, she wasn't. Nobody breaks up with Brutus; he's the most popular guy in Panem Preparatory. Rich, handsome, quarterback of the football team, and great when it comes to bed. Every girl wants to be with him.

"Yes, I am," she said. "Goodbye, Brutus." She turned around and walked away from him, getting a couple good looks from other guys, which caused his blood to boil.

"Damn it," Brutus cursed as he made his way to the lunch table with Cato, Marvel, Finnick, and Gale. "I'm fucked."

"What's wrong, man?" Cato asked as he lit a cigarette.

"Cashmere and I are no longer a 'thing'," he said. "She just broke up with me."

"That must suck for you," Finnick teased.

"Dude, why are you upset? You said she was getting on your nerves," Gale said.

"I know, but… I kinda want her back," Brutus said. "It's crazy. But I don't want any other guy to be with her. She's still mine, I claimed her."

"Why'd she wanna break up?" Cato asked.

"She said she needed to take a break from me," Brutus told them.

Finnick chuckled. "What? Did Panem's playboy loose his touch suddenly?"

"We all know that's never going to happen," Brutus said cockily.

"Just give her some time, she'll come crawling back to you," Marvel said. "She always does."

"No, I don't think she will this time," Brutus said. "I even heard she's going out with this guy, Alexander."

"Shame," Cato said before inhaling and then releasing the smoke from the cigarette, which caused Cinna, the Dean, to stomp towards him.

"Mr. Reed, you know the rules," he said, holding up his hand for Cato to hand over the cigarette, which he unwillingly did. "Thank you. Don't let this happen again." He walked away and threw Cato's cigarette in the trashcan. Cato mumbled a curse at Cinna.

"Well, why don't you make Cashmere come to you?" Finnick suggested.

"How the fuck am I supposed to do that?" Brutus asked.

"By going out with someone and making her jealous," Cato explained as if he were an idiot.

"Which girl in this school is going to make Cashmere jealous? She's the most popular girl in Panem Preparatory," Brutus stated.

"Go out with someone who is the complete opposite of Cashmere," Marvel said. "Like," – he looked around the cafeteria – "her!" He pointed at _her_. She was sitting all by herself in a table, her feet up on the table while listening to music on her headphones.

"No way," Brutus said. "I'm not going to go out with Enobaria Kensington; she's a freak."

"Do you want Cashmere back?" Cato asked. Brutus nodded. "Then she's the way to getting her back. It doesn't even have to be real, you can just fake it."

Brutus groaned and stood up. He raked his hand through his blonde hair before approaching her. Enobaria was wearing a black mini skirt with black fishnet tights underneath. She wore a black grey blouse with the buttons way too down than necessary. Her hair was messy and loose. Her shoes were a pair of six-inch, black, high-heel boots. Her makeup was a generous amount of black eyeliner with mascara and dark lips.

Brutus coughed to grab her attention, but she didn't even look at him. He got frustrated and took the headsets out so she could hear him.

"What the fuck is your problem?" she growled.

"I have a proposal for you," Brutus said, twirling the headsets in his hands.

"I couldn't care less," she said, trying to snatch her red headsets from him.

He chuckled. "You should be thrilled that I'm even talking to you. I am, after all, Panem Preparatory's playboy."

"You're just a guy who invites girls to his bed and then throws them away like they're trash because you get bored of them so fast," she stated.

Brutus brought his hand up to his heart and gave her a pouty face. "You're hurting my feelings."

"Quit the crap, what do you want?" She was getting feisty; Brutus loved it when girls got feisty on him.

"Go out with me," he said.

"Not a chance," she told him, trying to retrieve her headsets, again.

"I don't know if you know, but I always get what I want," Brutus stated.

"Well, I'm so sorry you're going to have to face rejection for the first time." She snatched her headsets from his hands in one quick movement. "Now, leave me alone."

"Damn you." He walked away and met up with the guys who were watching them closely during the entire conversation. "She's impossible."

"No, she's just hard to get," Finnick said.

"Well, I can't deal with hard to get," Brutus said. "I need fast and easy."

That's how relationships were like with him. He'd easily get girls and bang them, then throw them away when he got bored or tired of them. Cashmere was the only one who hadn't bored him, yet. That's why they were together; sex worked for them. It didn't have to do with emotions or feelings, so it was easy for them. None of them were very sentimental people.

"Is the famous playboy giving up?" Finnick teased him.

"You were also a playboy," Marvel stated.

"I was, but then I met Annie." Finnick had it bad for the girl. He stopped his playboy ways and changed just for her. That's what loves does to people, and Brutus wanted nothing of it. He wasn't going to change just for a girl. Especially, for a girl he had to pretend to like just to get his ex-girlfriend back.

"Dude, she changed you," Gale said.

"Yeah, she did." Finnick was looking up at the ceiling, day-dreaming of Annie Cresta, the sweet, innocent girl who Finnick went crazy for.

"I don't know how I'm going to get Kensington to go out with me," Brutus said.

"Why is it so hard for you?" Gale asked. "You can get any girl with just the snap of your fingers."

"It's not me, it's her," Brutus stated. "She has no interest in going out with me, at all."

"Come on, I know you can get whatever you want, if you really try," Finnick stated. He was right, even though Brutus got whatever he wanted easily, he's had to fight for what he wants sometimes. Only problem is, that barely happens since he's rich.

Most people in this school were rich. Marvel's dad is the owner of a diamond industry, Cato's father is owner of Windows, Gale's mother has her own line of clothing, and Finnick's dad is a famous tennis player. Brutus's family is loaded with cash because when his rich uncle died, his father took over the family business.

"I can see you're still not convinced," Finnick said. "Let's make a bet. I bet you can't get Enobaria Kensington to go out with you."

"You and I are rich, why would you and I need money?" Brutus asked.

"Because I know you never turn down bets," Finnick reminded. "Come on, how hard can it be?"

"How much are we betting?" Brutus asked.

"Let's make this a little more interesting," Finnick proposed. "I'll give you two months. Get her to go out with you, $350. Get her to smash with you; I'll add an extra $200."

Brutus was more than tempted. Not only did he want to go out with her to get Cashmere back, he wanted to get the girl who rejected him to go out with him. It gave him a satisfied feeling of still knowing he was the best. "Deal."

Brutus and Finnick shook hands and sealed the bet. "No backing out," Finnick said.

"No backing out," Brutus repeated.


	2. Chapter 2

Brutus had a whole two months to get Enobaria Kensington to go out with him. But he wasn't worried, he knew every trick of the book and he was going to get her. He'd also fuck her and prove to Enobaria that he's too good to turn down. After that, he'd be done with her and he'd have Cashmere back. And he'd earn $550, not that he needed the money.

It started to rain, so he turned on the wind-shield wipers of his Porsche. He noticed Enobaria walking home from school in the rain, without even an umbrella. Now's his chance. He drove up to her and brought down his window.

"Hey, need a ride?" he asked.

"Fuck off," she snapped at him.

"You're getting wet," he stated.

"No shit, Sherlock. That's what happens when you're out in the rain," she said sarcastically.

Not only did it start to rain harder than before, but thunder started and so did lightning. "Quit arguing with me and get in the damn car!" She groaned and got into the car with him. Once she got into the passenger seat, he began to drive off. "Where do you live?"

"I'll just tell you," she said while shivering from the cold.

"What's wrong? Don't wanna tell me where you live so I don't –?"

"Turn left!" Enobaria commanded.

Brutus quickly turned before they passed their turn. She almost gave him a freaking heart attack. "What the heck? You couldn't have told me a little sooner?"

"Your big mouth wouldn't shut up," she stated.

"Well, excuse me for wanting to have a little small talk with – "

"Right!" she commanded.

Brutus suddenly turned right, like before. "You should really give directions better."

"You really should shut your pie hole and focus on the road," Enobaria talked back.

He growled at her. "Look, about my proposal before… It's still available."

"I'm not interested in guys like you," she said

"What exactly do you mean by 'guys like - ?"

"Make a left!" Enobaria shouted.

Brutus turned left and kept on going with the conversation. "What do you mean by 'guys like me'?"

"I told you during lunch; guys who get girls easily and throw them away just as quick as they got them," Enobaria explained to him.

"What makes you think I'm one of those guys?" Brutus asked. She gave him a stupid look. "Ok, bad question. Come on, just give me a chance."

"Not gonna happen," she told him. "We're here!" Enobaria grabbed her bag and got off his car.

"What? No thank you?" he asked.

"Nope." Enobaria walked up to her porch and looked inside her bag for her keys. Her house was pretty decent; he kind of expected it to be a little bigger. All the kids from their school were rich. Guess she was one of the few who weren't.

Then realization struck him. Enobaria refused to go out with him, again. This was going to be a lot harder than he thought. He shrugged and drove home to his big mansion. Brutus lived with his dad; his older brother's living in Massachusetts, Boston. He moved from Miami after he graduated from college.

Brutus got out of his car and entered the mansion to see Marta, the house-cleaner, vacuuming the kitchen floors. "Hi, Maria," he greeted her.

"Hello, Brutus. Did you have a good day?" she asked. Marta was very nice to Brutus; after all, she's been with him since he was six years old.

"It was interesting," he told her before grabbing an apple from a bowl on the kitchen counter.

"Shouldn't you be in football practice?" she asked.

He shook his head before taking a bite of his apple. "Practice was canceled due to the rain. Anyway, what's for dinner tonight?"

"Actually, you, your dad and Clara are eating out tonight," she told him. "And your father wants to see you in his office."

"Thank you." Brutus put down his apple and headed to his dad's office. He knocked on the door and went in after his dad allowed him to. His father didn't like to be interrupted, especially when he was in his office working. Brutus walked into his dad's office to see a bunch of boxes in the middle of the room. "Hi, dad. You wanted to see me?"

"Hi, son," Brutus's dad greeted. "I did want to see you."

"Hey, what's up with all these boxes? Are we moving?" Brutus asked.

Brutus's dad sighed. "No, we're not moving. These are all of Clara's things. I've asked her to marry me."

"Marry you?" Brutus was in shock.

He knew his dad and Clara were serious about their decision, but he didn't think they'd get married. He didn't think his dad would get over his mom so soon; it's only been a couple of years since their divorce. That's when Brutus started the whole playboy thing, to distract himself from the divorce.

"Yes," his dad replied before giving him a sad look. "Look, I know the divorce has been hard on you, but I really love Clara."

"And you didn't think of telling me?" Brutus asked.

"I don't have to ask for your approval for decisions like this," Brutus's dad informed him.

"You marrying Clara doesn't just affect you, it also affects me." Brutus walked out of his office and headed upstairs to his room. He called Marvel on his iPhone. "Marvel, can you come over?"

"I'll be there in a minute," Marvel told him before hanging up. A couple seconds later, Marvel climbed up Brutus's window. That was an old habit of them, to climb their bedroom windows so no one knew. They also did it because they lived in the same neighborhood. "Hey, what's up? Is it about the bet?"

"No, it's actually worse." Brutus wanted to cry so badly, but he wouldn't allow himself to do it, even if it was in front of his friends. He hardened up after the divorce. "My dad and Clara are getting married."

"Bro, I'm so sorry." It sounds crazy to say that, but Marvel understood. He was there for him when Brutus's parents constantly fought, when they decided to get a divorce, when Brutus's mom moved out, when Brutus's dad started seeing Clara, and now he was there for him when Brutus was told they were going to get married.

"What am I gonna do?" Brutus asked.

"I'm sorry to say this, but you can't really do anything about this," Marvel said. "If your dad and Clara want to get married, there's no stopping them. If you can't fight them, at least don't be so against it."

That was what Marvel didn't understand. It killed Brutus when his parents got a divorce. He felt as if his parents didn't think of how he would feel when they parted. Now it kills him even more hearing that he's going to have a new step-mom. He didn't want a new step-mom, he wanted his real mom.

Then, Marvel's phone rang. Marvel asked him to wait while he talked. "Hi, Glimmer. What'd that girl do now? Oh no she didn't! Okay, I'll see you tonight, Boo-Bear. Yes, I love you too, Glim-Glim. Bye. No, you hung up first. No, you. Fine, we'll do it at the same time. Okay, one… two… three." Marvel hung up to see a weirded out Brutus. "What?"

"Glim-Glim?" Brutus asked.

"Yeah…" Marvel started to day-dream about her. They started going out eleven months ago, and they've been inseparable. She put up with his goofy, funny ways and he put up with her sassy, cute, adorable ways. That's how it goes with relationships; they deal with each other even though they're sometimes a pain in the ass.

"Brutus? Are you in there?" Clara knocked on Brutus's bedroom door. "I was hoping we could talk."

"Shit! You gotta get out of here before they find out about you here!" Brutus whispered.

Marvel quickly climbed down Brutus's window. Before he left, he said, "Remember, try to get along."

Clara opened Brutus's bedroom door as if she had the right. "Hi, Brutus. Look, can we talk? Your dad told me about you reaction about our engagement."

It angered Brutus that his father was talking to Clara about everything. "I'm fine."

"Really? Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?" That's what bothered Brutus so much. She tried too hard to be his mother. The thing is, she'll never be his mother. Not by blood, not by marriage.

"What's there to talk about?" Brutus snapped. "You want me to tell you how I'm hurting right now that my dad and you are getting married only a couple years after my parent's divorce? You want me to tell you that I wasn't even over my parent's divorce and how it kills me to see my dad's moving on so soon?"

Clara's face paled to the color of snow. She felt embarrassed, really. She knew she would never be his mother, but she thought she could at least be a motherly figure to him. "Well, I'm glad I know how you feel now."

"No, Clara, I'm sorry," Brutus apologized. He knew Clara never wanted to cause problems, especially with Brutus and his dad. "I'm just really worked up today."

"It's fine." Clara walked over to his bedroom door. "Your father said that we should get going."

Brutus nodded before grabbing his phone and jacket and then heading downstairs. Once they were ready, they got into Brutus's dad's car and drove for fifteen minutes until they arrived at a very grand neighborhood with large mansions. Some were about the size of Brutus's home; some were a lot larger than his.

They stopped and parked at the largest mansion in the neighborhood. They walked up to the large front door and Brutus's dad rang the doorbell.

A man who was about in his fifties answered the door. He wore white gloves and a black tux. "Welcome. I am the butler. I assume you are the here to have dinner with the Kensington's, am I right?"

"Yes, I'm Peter Nollen," Brutus's dad introduced himself. "This is my fiancée, Clara, and my son, Brutus."

"Please, come in." The butler opened the door for them to enter. Once they entered the large mansion, he closed the door and led them to the living room. "Sit down and make yourselves comfortable. I shall go and inform Mr. Kensington you have arrived. He's dealing with some family issues with his niece." He walked away and made a left to one of the many grand hallways in the mansion.

Brutus was amazed at how big the mansion was. It was about twice the size of his house, maybe even more. The house was spacious, large, yet also comfy and welcoming. It was modern with a hint of traditional and classic. In every room, there was a chandelier. There were also multiple workers working around the house. This family must be loaded with cash.

Then, a woman and man who were in about their late thirties came out from one of the hallways the butler disappeared into. The man wasn't old, but he wasn't young. He wore pretty fancy clothes and smelled of Ralph Lauren. The woman was beautiful. She had an endless look. Classic makeup, chic clothes, she smelled of Chanel.

"Peter, it's been so long," the man said before giving him a manly hug.

"It has," Peter said. "Brutus, this is John. He's an old college friend of mine. And this is his wife, Diana. John and Diana, this is my son."

Brutus shook hands with John and Diana. "Pleasure to meet you," Brutus said.

"And this is my fiancée, Clara," Peter introduced Clara to them.

John took Clara's hand in his and kissed it. "Lovely to meet a woman like you." You could say John was a little charming with the ladies. Diana shook hands with Clara.

"My niece should be down soon. Excuse her tardiness, she's going through a rough time," John said.

"I didn't know you niece was joining us," Clara said.

"Well, she lives with Diana and me," John said. "Oh! Here she is! Sweetheart, come greet our guests."

"I'm coming," his niece said. Brutus couldn't see her face very well, but he did notice she had a hot body. Her black dress and fishnet tights proved it well enough. Once she was down the stairs, she made eye contact with him. Brutus couldn't believe it.

It was Enobaria Kensington.


	3. Chapter 3

Enobaria walked up to the group of adults and, well, Brutus. "Hi, I'm Enobaria." She shook hands with Clara and Peter. "You are?"

"I'm Peter," Brutus's dad replied with a warm smile on his face.

"And I'm Clara," Clara said.

"And this is my son, Brutus," Peter introduced. Enobaria and Brutus stared at each other. "Do you know each other?"

"I've seen him around school from time to time," Enobaria said. She tried her hardest not to make eye contact with Brutus.

Diana could sense the awkwardness between the two teens. "Well, why don't we go have dinner? Super is served in the dining table."

They made their way past the living room to the spacious dining area where a long dining table of the finest wood stood. There were four seats on each side and one on each end. Diana and John sat on the ends while Peter and Clara sat on one side and Enobaria and Brutus on the other.

Suddenly, six servants, each with a plate of deliciously looking food, entered the dining table and set a plate in front of each and every one of them. Then, another servant poured water into everyone's glass and left.

"Dig in," John said. They served juicy steak and mashed potatoes with a side of bread and vegetables. "Peter, we have so much catching up to do. How have you been?"

"Well, I've been very busy during the past few years, with the divorce and everything," Peter explained. "It's been quite hectic."

"Oh, I bet," Diana said. "But now you have Clara, and you're going to get married and I know you'll be very happy about it."

"Peter! You're getting married? How come you didn't tell me?" John patted Brutus's dad on the back. "I'm so happy for you, man. And you too, Clara. You made a great decision when you decided to go out with this guy right here."

Enobaria noticed Brutus flinch during the whole conversation about Peter and Clara's engagement. He seemed vulnerable, something she thought she would never get to see. This wasn't the playboy Brutus from school; he was a boy who was still dealing with family issues. Enobaria couldn't help but feel bad for him. She couldn't take it anymore.

"Uncle, since we're done with super, may Brutus and I be excused?" Enobaria asked her dear uncle. Brutus was a little surprised at how she talked; she didn't talk like that in school. But Enobaria had great respect for her uncle and aunt. They also taught her to talk properly.

"Sure, sweetie," Diana said. "I'll call you both for when desert comes. I made a surprise for you all."

"Thank you." Enobaria stood up, grabbed Brutus's arm, and led him outside to the large, spacious deck. She made her way to the bar and grabbed a drink. "You want a drink?"

"No, I'm fine." Brutus took out a pack of cigarettes and his lighter. Once he lit the cigarette, he took one deep breathe and held onto it for a few good seconds. "So, why'd you take me out here with you? I thought you wanted nothing to do with me."

"I don't want anything to do with you," she said before taking a sip of her drink and sitting down on one of the seats. "It just looked like you needed to get away from them; I noticed how you flinched during the entire conversation."

Brutus took a seat next to her. "I didn't need you to rescue me; I was doing just fine."

Enobaria shrugged. "Whatever, I know you'll thank me later." Brutus scoffed before inhaling again. "You probably shouldn't do that; smoking kills your lungs."

"Drinking kills your liver," Brutus talked back at her.

"Touché," Enobaria agreed with him and then she took another sip of her drink. "But really, if you didn't have to get away, then why were you so uncomfortable?"

"I'm not telling you," he snapped. "You shouldn't even be meddling into my personal life. You don't see me doing that with you, so don't do it with me. Oh, wait. I know why I'm not meddling into your personal life. You don't have one. You even lied to me about where you live. What's up with that? You're a freaky loner and you just push people away from you because you prefer to be alone."

Enobaria set down her glass on the coffee table next to her. "Gee, thanks." Even though Enobaria tried not to show it, those words hurt her. He didn't know anything about her. He had no right to say those things about her.

Brutus could tell he took it a little too far. "Shit. Enobaria, I didn't mean it. I just got mad and – "

"Brutus! Enobaria! Desert's ready! I made apple pie!" Diana called.

Enobaria stood up and fixed her dress. "Forget I even did this for you." She walked back inside the mansion, ignoring him.

Brutus slapped himself on the forehead before following after her. He sat down next to her and tried to get her attention, but she wouldn't even glance in his direction. He knew he screwed up badly. They ate the apple pie in silence while the adults gossiped.

"Eno, I almost forgot to tell you. You received another letter," John told her.

"Thanks for telling me." Enobaria seemed a little turned down once John told her about the letter. "I don't even know why I bother to look at them; I should just throw them away."

"Eno, at least read it," Diana suggested. Brutus was so confused. Why would Enobaria get so upset over a letter?

Enobaria didn't reply to what Diana told her. "Please, excuse me. I need to go to the ladies'." She stood up and walked out before her uncle excused her.

It was just Dad, Clara, John, Brutus, and Diana. "Mr. Kensington, I wish to speak of your niece."

"What about her? Did she cause any trouble in school?" John asked.

"No, not at all," Brutus assured him. "I would like to take Enobaria out on a date with me. I was hoping you'd give me permission."

"Son, with all due respect, I don't think you're a good influence on her," John said sincerely. "I'm giving you permission to at least try, though I doubt she'll agree. She doesn't like to deal with guys like you, well, guys in general."

"Is there anything I can do to make her say yes?" Brutus asked.

John sighed. "Look, you need to understand that Enobaria's built up her walls during these past years due to some… Issues. She's not going to let you in that easily. She's aware and cautious of who she crosses."

That explained why she was alone most of the time, why she was not very sentimental, why she barely socialized. That explained why Enobaria never got too attached, to not get hurt.

"Thank you for the talk," Brutus said. "May I be excused? I need to go to the bathroom." After the butler led him to the downstairs bathroom, he went up the stairs in search for Enobaria. He knew she lied about having to go to the bathroom.

After searching many rooms, he finally came across her bedroom. He gave a soft knock, but the door opened since it wasn't completely shut. She was sitting on her bed, reading a letter. Her face was tense and filled with hurt. So she really was reading the letter she received. Brutus didn't really understand why Enobaria kept it a secret, but he knew it was important to her.

Brutus leaned on the door even more, causing him to open the door wider and fall to the marble floor. Enobaria got out of her bed and stood in front of him, looking down at him. "What are you doing here?"

Brutus stood up. "Your uncle said to come comfort you and see if you were okay."

"Bullshit. Everyone knows to leave me alone," Enobaria stated. "I don't need comforting, especially from you. Now, let's go downstairs and forget this ever happened or I'll tell your dad and Clara that you were wandering around upstairs."

Enobaria led Brutus downstairs and they acted as if nothing ever happened.

"Oh! Look at the time! We should get going," Peter said. "Brutus has school and I have a meeting tomorrow morning bright and early."

Enobaria walked the guests out because her uncle taught her that was good manners. "Hope you enjoyed the dinner."

"We did." Peter shook hands with Enobaria before putting on his jacket.

"Goodbye." Clara followed behind Peter.

Enobaria and Brutus stared at each other, not daring to say anything. Brutus felt ashamed of saying what he said about her before. He normally never apologized, but he needed to get Enobaria to at least be on good terms with him.

"I'm sorry," Brutus said before turning around and walking to his dad's car. During the drive, Brutus received a text message from Finnick.

__F: Four days gone, fifty-eight days left.__


	4. Chapter 4

Enobaria walked out the door with her skateboard and backpack. Just before she could get on her skateboard, a car approached her from the road. She recognized the car too well and knew who it was.

The driver rolled down the window. "Hey, Princess," Brutus said.

Enobaria scoffed. "I'm not anyone's princess." She hated being called like that, made her feel like people owned her and treated her like property. "What are you doing here?"

"Decided to drive by and give you a ride to school," Brutus replied before giving her a wink that would make any girl's heart melt. But Enobaria wasn't like most girls, and she didn't fall for his ways. "Hop on."

"I'd rather jump off a cliff than get in that car with you," Enobaria told him. She got on her skateboard, and Brutus drove beside her. "Besides, you don't want others to see you hanging around with the lonely freak, like you said last week."

Brutus was meaning to properly apologize to her about what he said last night, but he forgot. "Look, about that… I'm sorry I said that about you."

Enobaria looked into his eyes. She could tell when people were lying. She got so sick of people doing it to her in the past; she just decided to put a stop to it. "Here's the thing. You're not sorry, you never are. You still think I'm the lonely freak who pushes herself away from others." It began to rain, but Enobaria wasn't going to let some drops of water be her excuse for getting into that car with him.

"Just get in already!" Brutus said.

"In your dreams." She pulled the hood of her jacket up and took off on her skateboard.

Brutus cursed under his breathe and drove to the school. He dumped his books into his locker and slammed the door. He noticed a cute, blonde girl looking at him with hungry eyes. Brutus smirked before making his way to her. "Hello, Delly. Like what you see?"

"I do," she said before tracing his chest with her finger. "But I'd like to see what's underneath your clothes, instead."

"That can be arranged." Brutus crashed his lips into hers and cupped her cheek with his hand. Delly grinned into the kiss and allowed access to her throat. He pulled away, leaving her wanting for more. "After school, my place."

Enobaria laughed at the sight right in front of her. She knew Brutus would go for someone else when he knew he couldn't have her. She was glad she was smart enough to not fall for his tricks. The bell rang and she made her way to first period, Technology with Beetee.

Brutus groaned once he found out that Enobaria had witnessed the whole scene. He left Delly without saying goodbye and marched his way over to his first period, History with Haymitch. The whole time Haymitch slept, so they got free time.

Finnick and Gale walked up to him. "Any luck?" Finnick asked.

Brutus shook his head. "She's so impossible to get."

"Who's impossible?" Glimmer asked from behind Gale. Glimmer was rich because her parents were the owners of Tiffany and Co. "If you mean Delly, I saw you guys making out in the hallway and it didn't look like she was putting up much of a fight."

"No, he means Enobaria Kensington," Marvel replied before wrapping his arm from behind her waist. "You know, the freak with the dark clothes and excessive eye makeup?"

"She's not a freak," Brutus defended her. He didn't know why he was defending her; maybe it was because he still felt guilty about calling her that right in front of her face.

"Why would you want to go out with Enobaria?" Clove asked. Clove's family was rich because her dad was a major athlete who competed in the Olympics. He's retired, yet still loaded with cash.

"Finnick and Brutus made a bet that if he could get Kensington to go out with him in two months, Brutus would receive $350," Cato explained. "And extra $200 if she'd let him smash with her."

Glimmer gasped. "Guys, that's so barbaric of you to do!"

"What? It's just a bet," Finnick said. "Nothing wrong with wanting to get a little extra cash. Besides, if Brutus gets Enobaria to go out with him, then Cashmere will get jealous and she'll come crawling back to him on her knees."

"I agree with Glimmer," Clove said. "Someone's going to get hurt."

"Calm down," Gale said. "By the looks of it, no one's going to get hurt if Brutus doesn't step up his game. He's had no luck whatsoever."

"I'll get what I want," Brutus said. "I always do. But maybe asking her out isn't the best way of approaching the situation."

Marvel clapped his hands together once he thought of an idea. "We can blackmail her!"

"No, that's just cruel," Clove disagreed.

"And we have no one to use against her," Cato added. It was true, none of them knew of anyone that Enobaria was close to. She spent most of her time alone.

"Why don't I just make her owe me a favor?" Brutus suggested. It seemed like the only possible way of getting Enobaria to go out with him.

"No," Finnick said. "You can't bribe, blackmail, or do anything else. You have to go by the book. Or else the bet is off and no money is given or taken."

Brutus didn't really care about the money. He just wanted to make Enobaria realize that he always got what he wanted; not that he wanted her. More like he wanted to show her that every girl wants him. "Come on! Just this once. If she wants to go out on a second date, then that'll mean that it wasn't just the favor."

Finnick sighed. "Fine, just this once."

The bell rang and Brutus grinned because he had French next period with Enobaria. This was going to be good. He just had to find out a way of helping her so that she would owe him a favor. On his way there, he 'accidentally' bumped into Enobaria.

She growled at him, knowing that he did it on purpose. "Can you move out of my way?" She had a long day and she wasn't in the mood to deal with him right now. "You're going to make me late for French."

Just on time, the second period bell rang. That meant that both Brutus and Enobaria were late. Enobaria cursed under her breath and pushed him out of her way and entered the French class, Brutus following right behind her.

"You're late!" Portia, the French teacher, said. "Enobaria and Brutus, you both have detention after school. 3:00, sharp."

Enobaria groaned and looked at Brutus. He smirked and walked over to Portia's desk. "My apologies, Madame. It was my entire fault; I am the reason as to why Enobaria and I are late. I'm sure you can let this one slip, oui?" He gave her a charming smile.

Portia fell for his ways, just like they all did. "Very well then; just this once. Now go sit down."

Enobaria and Brutus sat down in the only table that was available. Brutus was waiting for a thank you from her. "You're welcome," he reminded her. "I just saved you from getting detention."

"I didn't ask you to save my sorry ass," she said. "And none of this would have happened if you just moved out of my way. So no, I won't give you my regards."

"Listen, Princess, I just did a favor for you," Brutus growled. "You owe me one."

Enobaria scoffed. "I never thought the famous Brutus would be so desperate for a date that he'd have to make it a favor. Name your payback."

"A date," Brutus responded. "Wednesday night; I'll pick you up at 8:00. Wear something fancy."

"I have plans that day," she said.

"Well, here's what you're going to do. You're going to cancel your plans and tell whoever that you owe me a favor," Brutus ordered.

"Son of a bitch," Enobaria muttered.

"I love you too, Princess," Brutus talked back to annoy her.

XXX

After school, Delly got into Brutus's car and greeted him with a kiss on the lips.

"Save some of that for later," Brutus said before taking off and heading to his house. The whole ride was silent.

When they arrived, he dragged her upstairs to his room. He locked his bedroom door and pushed Delly onto his bed. She didn't have time to react to his sudden roughness due to Brutus smashing his lips against hers. She allowed access to her throat and Brutus gladly accepted.

Once Brutus got tired of her lips, he went for her neck, making sure to leave marks. Delly let a moan escape her lips as he removed her shirt, leaving her in her hot pink, lace bra. Brutus cupped a breast and squeezed it while he concentrated on her neck.

Delly was able to take off his shirt, exposing his well-toned muscles. Delly tried to be on top, but she knew that would be impossible. Brutus always liked to be on top; always liked to be dominating. Brutus unhooked her bra, leaving her exposed. He sucked both her nipples, making sure to tease her. Brutus removed her jeans and Delly removed his.

Delly began to grind against Brutus. The sounds of pleasure she released annoyed Brutus. That was when Brutus began to think. Is this right? How am I supposed to get Enobaria to like me if I'm fucking with other girls? This wasn't the right way.

Delly wanted him, _now_. She began to bring down his boxers, but Brutus stopped her. He pulled away from her. "Get out."

"Brutus, babe, I know you want this more than anything," Delly said in a seductive tone. "Just stop thinking so much and come back to bed with me."

Brutus shook his head. "Not gonna happen. Now, do I have to ask you again? Get out!"

Delly quickly put on her clothes and fixed herself before saying, "Your loss," and walking out the door.

This was it; Brutus was finally going to start to have some resistance. He was finally going to get what he wanted; the right way. No cheating this time.


	5. Chapter 5

Enobaria looked at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a black, short, cocktail dress. It was short, meaning it was close to exposing her butt. It was a deep, very deep, V-neck, showing a small amount of cleavage. To match her dress, she wore black, peep toe pumps that were six inches tall. Brutus did say something fancy.

For makeup she wore foundation, black winged out eyeliner, generous coats of mascara, contour along her jaw, cheekbones, nose, and temples, and red lipstick. She sprayed on her favorite perfume before grabbing her purse and heading downstairs.

"Enobaria, you're a little fancy for going to Red Lobster," her uncle said as he saw what she was wearing.

"Uncle, I'm sorry. Something came up and I can't go to Red Lobster with you tonight," Enobaria explained.

"What? But we always go to Red Lobster on Wednesdays," John complained.

"I know." Enobaria would much rather go out to Red Lobster with her uncle than go out with Brutus on a date somewhere fancy. But she didn't really have a choice.

"Something tells me by the look of your face that you don't want to go wherever you have to go." John knew her better than anybody. He was like the father she never had. He was there for her whenever no one else was. Heck, he even took her in and let her live with him and Diana.

"Look, I'll make it up to you," Enobaria promised.

The doorbell rang and Diana went to see who it was. "Hello, Brutus," she greeted. "What a surprise to see you here."

"I'm here to pick up Enobaria," Brutus explained. "We have a date tonight."

"I can see." Diana noticed Brutus was wearing a fancy suit with black shoes. "Here she is!"

Enobaria walked up to the front door, John right behind her. Brutus stared at her with his mouth agape. "What? You said wear something fancy."

"Right, we should get going," Brutus said. "We have a reservation at Ruth's Chris Steak House."

Enobaria bid goodbye to Diana and John before walking out with Brutus. He opened the car door for her, like any other gentleman does. The car ride was silent.

When they arrived, Brutus opened the door for her before they took his car to the valet parking. "Reservation for two, Nollen."

"Right this way," the waiter said, leading them to their table. Brutus asked for a table with a view, and he got what he wanted. Brutus pulled the chair for Enobaria and tucked her in before he sat down in front of her. The waiter handed them their menus. "Enjoy your evening. Enobaria, is that you? I haven't seen you in so long."

"It's been a long time," Enobaria said. "It's great to see you, Daniel." The waiter walked away with a smile on his face. It looked like Enobaria made his day just by saying hello.

"You know him?" Brutus asked.

"Yeah, he's a friend of my uncle," she said. Then there was an awkward silence. The silence broke when another waiter came to take their drinks. "Hi, Kyle."

"Hey, Enobaria. Glad to see you," the waiter said. "What can I get you guys?"

"I'd like a beer," Brutus said.

"Vodka on the rocks," Enobaria asked. He took their order and walked away. Brutus gave her a look. "I come her a lot with my uncle."

"You're very close to your uncle," Brutus said.

Enobaria nodded. "He's very close to me; like the father I've never had. If he hadn't taken me in, then I'd probably be in the system."

"System? Wait, what about your parents?" Brutus regretted asking that, seeing how her facial expression changed when he brought up her parents. "Sorry, I didn't mean to make you upset."

"No, no, it's okay," Enobaria said. "My parents… I haven't seen them in a long time. My mom… She left my dad and me when I was five. She didn't want me."

"Where is she now?" Brutus asked.

"I have no idea," Enobaria replied. "I don't know if she's dead or alive. I barely even knew her, so I guess it didn't hurt that much. It would have hurt more if I was older and if I grew attached."

"And your dad?" Brutus didn't know why he was curious about her past. He didn't know what was behind her walls. He just assumed, he didn't know. "Did he also leave you, too?"

"Let's just say my dad made some really bad decisions after my mom left. He's in prison," Enobaria said. "He writes, but I don't write back. I don't know what to say."

"I'm sorry," Brutus said. He never felt pity for anyone; he was too focused on himself to pay attention to anyone else.

"It's fine," Enobaria told him. "Can we just change this depressing subject?"

"Okay, how good are the steaks?" Brutus asked.

Enobaria laughed. "Really? I'm pretty sure a guy from your background has eaten at a place like this before."

"Hey, you said to change the subject," Brutus defended. "And yes, I have eaten here before. I just wanted to see your opinion about the food here."

"I'm quite sick of it," Enobaria said. "I've eaten here so many times. I know the menu by heart. But I guess I kinda expected you to choose this place. Fancy restaurant on a first day, so cliché."

"Wanna go somewhere else?" Brutus asked.

Enobaria shook her head. "Nah, we're already here. But next time, if there is a next time which I doubt, I get to choose."

"Oh, so there _is_ going to be next time?" Brutus teased.

"I said _if_ there is a next time, which I doubt," Enobaria reminded him. The waiter came along and gave them their drinks. Then he took their order. Enobaria ordered for them. She ordered steak with a side of shoestring fries.

"I thought you'd order something a little more extravagant," Brutus said.

"Hey, you can never go wrong with a basic, hearty steak." Enobaria was a very simple person and she wasn't at all that picky. She mostly went with the flow and it didn't bother her. "So, what's up with your dad and Clara?"

"There's a long and short story," Brutus said. "Pick."

"I've got time," Enobaria said before taking a sip of her drink.

"Okay, my parents got divorced about two years ago. It was pretty hard to see my parents split up; I'm still not over it. My dad took it pretty hard, but then Clara came along. They started seeing each other. One thing led to another and now they're getting engaged."

"Do you not like Clara?" Enobaria asked.

"She thinks she can just join my family like it's that easy," Brutus explained.

"Are you the only one against her? Don't you have any siblings?" she asked.

"My older brother's living in Boston," Brutus said. "And he's okay with Clara because dad's okay with Clara. But I'm not going to let her in that easily."

"Brutus, are you sure this isn't about you thinking she'll replace your mom?" Enobaria asked. "There's something you're not telling me."

"I think that what bothers me is that no one asked me if I wanted Clara to be a part of my life," Brutus admitted. "No one asked for my approval."

"I think you should just give her a chance," Enobaria advised.

The food came, it was absolutely delicious. Brutus insisted on paying, since he did invite her. Brutus drove Enobaria home. He walked her up to her front door.

"Choose," Brutus said.

"Sorry, what?" Enobaria asked.

"Choose a place for our next date," Brutus explained. "You said you got to choose."

"Brutus, it was just one night, and it wasn't even a date," Enobaria said. She searched through her purse for her house keys.

Brutus was scared that she wouldn't want to go out with him again. "At least tell me it wasn't as bad as you thought it would be."

Enobaria turned around to look at him. "It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be."

"If you don't want to go out on a date, will you at least come to the football game on Friday night?" Brutus didn't know what he was thinking when he invited her to go to the game. Sure, he wasn't getting a date, but he was at least getting some quality time with her.

"I was never really into football," Enobaria said.

"Will I ever get to hang out with you again?" Brutus was practically begging her for his time.

"Brutus, this night doesn't change anything." Enobaria opened up the front door of the mansion. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Brutus sighed before turning around and heading towards his car. He got a text message from Finnick.

_F: Fifty-three days left._


	6. Chapter 6

Enobaria was sitting at her usual table, eating her sandwich while listening to music on her headsets. She was still happy from the 'dinner date' she had with Brutus. She surprisingly enjoyed her night.

Suddenly, Brutus pulled up a chair and sat down next to Enobaria, removing her headphones during the process so that she could listen to him. "Good day, Princess."

"I'm not your princess and what do you think you're doing?" Enobaria wasn't used to having company during lunchtime; she sat alone and she liked it.

"I'm eating lunch with you," Brutus explained before taking a bite of his sandwich. He held it up to her, offering her a bite, but she turned down his offer. "If you won't go out with me again and you won't come to my football game tomorrow night, then I'll take what I can get. And right now I get to eat lunch with you."

"I sit alone." Enobaria assumed that after last night's dinner date, everything would be back to normal. She didn't think he'd end up eating lunch with her. Enobaria began to notice that people were giving them strange looks. She hated being the center of attention; she preferred to just blend in and not be noticed. "People are staring."

"Aww, my princess is shy." Brutus's couldn't help but laugh at the sight of Enobaria blushing.

Gale, along with Cato and Marvel, spotted Brutus and they all sat down at the lunch table. This was just what Enobaria needed.

"Dude, we were looking all over for you," Gale told him.

"How come you're not sitting at our usual lunch table?" Cato asked before taking a sip of his orange juice.

"I'm having lunch with Enobaria." Brutus casually placed his arm on her shoulder, which earned him a slap on the arm. "Ouch, that hurt."

" Oh, so you're Brutus's princess? It's an honor to meet you, your Royal Majesty," Marvel joked.

"I'm nobody's princess, and your Majesty is used to address queens, smart-ass," Enobaria corrected Marvel.

"Guess you like them smart and feisty," Gale teased Brutus.

Enobaria started to get a little irritated at Brutus's friends' lunch table invasion. Was it so much to ask for a little time alone? She gave Brutus an annoyed look, hoping he'd take the hint and leave with his friends.

"Enobaria, are you coming to the football game tomorrow?" Marvel asked.

"No, I don't like football." Enobaria just wanted them to leave her alone. When she lost all her patience, she stood up and grabbed her food. "I wish I could say it was night meeting you all, but it really wasn't. Bye." She walked away and put her headsets back into their normal place.

Gale scoffed. "She could be a little nicer, you know?"

"Nah, she just gets like that when she's annoyed." Brutus was surprised at how much he understood her after just one day. Not like he understood her, he was just more aware and cautious of his actions.

"Hey, how'd last night go?" Marvel asked.

"It was great; I think she actually enjoyed herself. But I can't get her to go out on another date with me. I even invited her to go to the football game tomorrow. She won't budge. Why won't she go out with me again? We went out last night and things went fine."

"Dude, it was more like a favor she owed you," Cato explained. "It's not like she actually wanted to go out with you; she felt forced. She has to willingly go with you out on a date instead of feeling like you forced or pressured her."

"How the hell am I supposed to do that?" Brutus asked, thinking it was impossible.

"That, my friend, is for you to find out," Marvel reminded Brutus. "Relax, you've got like fifty-two days left."

"I just hope that's enough time to get Cashmere back," Brutus said.

XXX

"Dear, are you sure you don't wanna to go the football game tonight?" Diana asked her niece, seeing that Enobaria had no plans since she was lying on her bed, reading a book.

"I'm sure." It wasn't that Enobaria didn't like football; she just didn't want to go because she knew Brutus was going to be there. Of course he was going to be there; he was quarterback. "I'll get bored, anyway."

"What aren't you saying?" Diana knew Enobaria was hiding something from her. "Does it have to do with that boy, Brutus?"

Enobaria nodded. "I thought that after the little 'dinner date', everything would be back to normal. The only reason I went out with him was because I owed him a favor. But I had a better time than I thought I would have. He asked to go out, again. I refused, so he asked me to go to the football game Friday night, which is today."

"Why do you make it sound like it's a bad thing?" Diana brushed a strand of hair from Enobaria's face.

"Because it is a bad thing! He's nothing but trouble! He's an arrogant, cocky person who gets all the girls he wants at the snap of his fingers and when he gets bored of them, he'll just throw them away."

"You don't think he'll change for you?" Diana asked, already knowing what Enobaria would respond to that question.

"Diana, I've dealt with guys like him before. I'm not in the mood to deal with him," Enobaria said.

Half of that was a lie, half of it wasn't. Enobaria had dealt with guys like Brutus, and then ended up having a broken heart. But Enobaria didn't tell Diana that she developed a little bit of feelings towards Brutus Wednesday night. She felt comfortable with him; she even talked to him about her parents.

She was scared that if she took her chances and got attached to Brutus, she'd end up getting hurt. Just like with her parents. Why do you think Enobaria built up her walls and kept people out? Why do you think she tried to be invincible; untouchable? She did it so she wouldn't have to go through the process of disappointment.

"Just give him a chance," Diana suggested. "You'd be surprised."

"Even if I were to go out with Brutus, he'd never take our relationship seriously," Enobaria said. "I need to know if he's serious about going out with me.

Diana chuckled. "You did always make sure they were committed. Just like your father."

"I'm nothing like him." Enobaria didn't like to be compared to her father; she wanted nothing to do with him.

"I know you're not." Diana looked at the time. "You should get going if you want to make it to the game on time."

Enobaria nodded before getting off of her bed, putting on her shoes, and heading downstairs to grab her car keys. "I'm not promising anything!"

"If you say so," Diana said from upstairs.

XXX

"We are going to crush those Mutts!" Chaff, the football coach, roared. "If we do this, we have a guaranteed spot for the state championship against the Jabberjays. Don't fail me tonight, boys! Everybody, hands in!"

The football players put their hands in and said their ritual. "Who's gonna win?! Mockingjays! Who's gonna beat them?! Mockingjays! Who's gonna go to the finals?! Mockingjays!"

The team headed out to the field to warm-up for the big game. During the warm-up, the cheerleaders kept the crowd entertained and excited. Cashmere, the captain, was making a fool of her herself by shaking her slutty ass around while wearing barely any clothes; if the cheerleading uniforms could even be considered as clothes.

Alexander, who was also in the football team, walked up to Cashmere and planted a kiss on her lips. She wished him good luck and he walked away. Brutus wanted to smack that guy so badly. He thought he could just take Cashmere away from him? Brutus was going to make him regret taking Cashmere from him.

"Have you seen Enobaria?" Brutus asked.

"She said she didn't like football," Cato said before putting on his helmet.

"Peeta, Katniss, Jo, Marvel, Clove, Glimmer, and Annie are sitting at the bleachers. I could ask them to look," Gale offered.

Brutus nodded and put on his helmet. He grabbed Finnick, who was blowing kisses at his girlfriend from the field, by the arm and dragged him to prepare for the game. The team was losing, badly. Brutus couldn't seem to focus. He was thinking of Enobaria, hoping that she was watching him from the bleachers.

A break was called and Brutus collapsed onto the bleachers.

"Nollen, what's wrong with you?" Chaff ordered to know. He was not going to lose tonight just because his quarterback was in La-La Land.

"Sorry, Coach. I'll try harder," Brutus said.

Chaff nodded and walked away. Once the coast was clear, Peeta hopped down the bleachers until he reached Brutus. Peeta's family owned the most famous and delicious bakery in the state. "Hey, guess who I found?" Peeta showed him a picture of a bored Enobaria, leaning against the railing, looking down at the game.

Brutus looked to see that she was right where Peeta took the picture not too long ago. "She came; she actually came." Brutus was in shock; he was positive that she wouldn't come since he asked her twice and she declined, twice.

"Anyway, Finnick told me about your little bet with him. Just be careful, okay?" Peeta asked. He was the most sensitive guy in the group; always looking out for other's well-being. That's why Katniss liked him so much; he was caring.

"I will be." Brutus didn't really listen to Peeta, he was staring at Enobaria. She looked so independent, so individual. She was different.

"Look, I gotta go. We all wish you luck." Peeta skipped his way up the bleachers until he reached his friends sitting in the bleachers.

Brutus laughed before putting on his helmet. With all his excitement, he was able to lead his team to victory. They were going to championships against the Jabberjays. It was really happening.

The rest of his friends came down the bleachers to congratulate Cato, Brutus, Gale, and Finnick.

"Congrats! I never doubted you once," Katniss said.

"Sure you didn't." Jo snorted before grabbing Gale by the neck and bringing him in for a kiss. "You killed it, babe."

"We should go celebrate!" Clove said, her hand in Cato's.

"Drinks on me!" Finnick announced. They walked away, the guys with their hands around their girlfriends' waist. Brutus stayed behind. "You coming?"

"Nah, go on without me," Brutus insisted.

"You can have a smoke." Marvel knew him too well. Brutus preferred to smoke better than to drink.

"I'll pass," Brutus said. "Go have fun." He walked back into the empty boys' locker room. His muscles were sore. He took off his shirt before splashing water on his face.

He looked at himself in the mirror, he didn't recognize himself.


	7. Chapter 7

Brutus approached Enobaria in the hallway, just before first period started. He hadn't spoken to her after the game during the weekend, since she left just as soon as she got there. "Hey, I thought you didn't like football."

"I don't," Enobaria said. "I went for other reasons."

"Which would be?" Brutus was curious to see what stupid excuse Enobaria would make up. He knew she went to the game to see him.

"None of your business." Enobaria tried to move past him, but he was blocking her way. "Can you move?"

"Not until you agree to go out with me, again," Brutus said.

"Is that your approach for everything? You're never going to get what you want by playing it that way," Enobaria warned him.

"Why won't you go out with me? We went out once, what's the harm?" Brutus asked.

"I'm not interested." Enobaria managed to move past him.

"Come on! How come you're the only girl who's said no?" Brutus asked. "What's wrong with you? Are you mental or something?"

Enobaria finally lost her cool. She turned around. "Well, I'm sorry I'm the only girl in this school not throwing myself at you!" She turned around and continued to walk.

"Well, maybe if you didn't pull away from people so much, guys would actually like you!" Brutus said back. His consequence: a well-deserved slap on the cheek in front of everyone in the hallway.

"Don't ever assume you know me," Enobaria warned him before turning and walking away.

All eyes were on Brutus. "What are you all looking at!?" He walked away, touching his red cheek that would soon turn into a bruise. He walked into the History classroom and sat down, slamming his fist on the desk.

Gale, along with Finnick, Marvel, Clove, Cato, and Glimmer walked over to him. "That looks youchie," Cato noted.

"Care to explain how you earned that?" Clove asked.

"I kinda pissed off Enobaria in the hallway," Brutus replied. "I asked her out and she refused, again. I got mad and things were said and now I have a red cheek."

"I'll get you an ice-pack from the nurse's office." Glimmer walked out of the classroom, not even bothering to ask for Haymitch's permission since he was passed out on the desk.

"Something tells me that the date was just because of the favor," Finnick concluded. "I told you it was a bad idea."

"Shut it," Brutus snapped at Finnick.

"I hope you're ready to lose $350 bucks," Finnick said.

"I am," Brutus said. "I can't do it; she's not going to let me in."

"You're giving up? That easily?" Cato asked. "Brutus, you haven't even gotten to first base with her."

"Well, I can't get her to go out with me if she won't agree to go out on a date with me," Brutus reminded him.

Glimmer came back and she carefully placed the ice-pack on Brutus's cheek. "That's going to bruise up pretty soon."

"No need to remind me," Brutus said.

"Dude, don't give up just yet. There's still hope," Marvel tried to keep some hope. "You have to apologize for whatever you said so that she'll be on good terms with you. You knew she's hard to get from the beginning."

"What did you say, once you think of it?" Clove asked.

"She started it! She said, 'Well, I'm sorry I'm the only girl in this school not throwing myself at you!' And then I said, 'Well, maybe if you didn't pull away from people so much, guys would actually like you!'"

"You didn't." Finnick was in shock from what Brutus said to Enobaria. "Good luck on apologizing."

The bell rang and they headed to second period. All through second and third period, Brutus was thinking of ways to apologize to Enobaria. He was blocked. He thought of flowers, chocolate, letters. No, Enobaria wasn't going to like any of that; she wasn't like any of the other girls.

He needed to do something different; something special.

XXX

A few days after the little incident with Brutus in the hallways, Enobaria was sitting on her bed, working on a homework assignment that was due the next day. She heard rocks being thrown at her window; but she ignored the noise. She knew it was Brutus; but she decided to ignore the noise.

Once it was too much, Enobaria stood up and headed to her window. He'd probably break her window if he kept on throwing rocks.

"What do you want!" Enobaria shouted to Brutus.

"I came to apologize!" Brutus replied from her front lawn. Enobaria snorted and walked away. "Wait! Just hear me out!"

She walked back to her window. "You've got three minutes. The clock is ticking."

Brutus stepped back to reveal flowers that formed the word, 'Sorry'. He had an expecting look on his face, hoping she'd forgive him.

"Really? Flowers? You thought you could just buy my apology like that?"

"What do you want me to do? I'm very sorry about what I said about you a couple days ago. I shouldn't of have said that; I don't even know you that well… I also would have apologized a couple days sooner, but I was thinking of a way to apologize."

"You just had to say that," Enobaria said.

"What? I didn't hear you that well," Brutus told her.

"I said that you just had to say that! You didn't have to bring those flowers and make that grand gesture!"

Brutus should have known. He knew Enobaria was different from other girls. She wasn't into grand gestures and boys buying her chocolates and flowers. She actually considered that to be pretty shallow and cliché.

"Do you forgive me?" Brutus asked.

"Fine, I forgive you." Enobaria didn't even know why she was forgiving Brutus. Maybe it was because she was feeling lonely and she wanted some company other than her uncle and aunt. "But this doesn't change anything; I'm still not going out on a date with you."

"Then friends?" Brutus asked, hoping she'd at least let him be her friend.

"Friends. Now get out of here before I call security."

"You wouldn't dare."

"Try me."

Brutus ran to his car and quickly drove away. What did Enobaria feel? A sense of relief? Comfort? Didn't matter. Once she was sure he was gone, she went downstairs, collected the flowers, headed to the kitchen, and put the flowers in a vase with water.

She smiled.


	8. Chapter 8

Brutus and Enobaria began to grow a little closer to each other during the past couple of weeks. She began to let him in, but not too much. Maybe it was the simple 'hellos' and 'goodbyes'. Maybe it was the way they smiled at each other and then quickly turned away, trying to hide the natural flush on their cheeks. Maybe it was the way he sat with her during lunch that made her feel less lonely. Maybe it was the way that they could just be themselves around each other and not someone else.

But Brutus couldn't just be friends with her if he wanted to win over Cashmere. He had to take it to the next level; he only had a month and a week left. Sure, he was making great progress during the first three weeks, but he couldn't leave it for the last minute.

Brutus arrived at Enobaria's house and rang the doorbell. Luckily, it was Diana who answered the door. "Hello, Diana. I was wondering if Enobaria was home."

"She is. I'll go get her." Brutus waited a few minutes before Diana returned. "She's getting ready. She'll be right down. Are you two going out on another date?"

"No, we've decided to be just friends," Brutus explained.

"Thank you," Diana thanked Brutus.

"For what?" Brutus asked.

"Enobaria's gotten a lot better since you came into her life," Diana said. "She smiles more, stands a little bit taller. I'm glad she's getting better, even during all this."

"During all what?" Brutus asked, knowing better than not to meddle into someone else's business. But Diana was one of those people who didn't mind speaking about those kinds of things.

"I'm here." Enobaria came through the door, wearing casual clothes. "Bye, Diana."

Brutus bid goodbye and they walked away from the front door. He opened the passenger door for her before getting in himself on the driver's seat. "Okay, if we're going to be friends, we need to do things that friends do. Eating lunch together and such is not doing anything for us. We need to do something together as friends."

"Such as?" Enobaria asked.

"What do you usually do with your friends?" Brutus asked.

"I'm a loner," she reminded him.

"Then we'll go drink smoothies." Brutus turned on the radio and cranked up the volume. Enobaria brought down the car window and let the wind through her hair. Brutus looked at her; she looked beautiful. She looked so foreign to the world.

Brutus pulled up to the parking and they headed to the smoothies place. Brutus ordered a mango berries smoothie and Enobaria ordered a strawberry banana. Brutus paid and they sat down outside in one of the patio seats.

Brutus seemed to be bothered by something, and Enobaria could tell. "Brutus, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Brutus said.

"No, you're not." Enobaria took a sip of her smoothie. "You wanna talk about it? Friend to friend? And just so you know, I normally don't listen or talk about other people's problems. But I'll listen to you."

Brutus sighed and sat up straighter. "My dad asked me to be his best man at his wedding."

"Brutus, that's great," she said with small smile on her face.

"No, it's not great. Just because Clara was able to sneak her way into my family doesn't mean I have to be happy about it," Brutus said.

"You're ridiculous," Enobaria told him. Brutus got offended and stood up, leaving his smoothie on the table. Enobaria quickly followed behind him. "Brutus, what's your problem?"

"My problem is that you don't understand." But Brutus hoped she would be one of the few who would understand. "I don't even know why I bothered to tell you all of this. You just don't get it."

"Woah, this isn't about me. This is about you not being grateful for what you have." Enobaria stared at him cold in the eyes. "You have a family! Your dad, mom, your older brother, Clara. I can't even remember my mom, I haven't talk to my dad in a long time and you have the nerve to feel sorry for yourself?"

"You have your uncle and Diana," he stated.

Enobaria began to tear up. "Brutus, Diana's pregnant. And now my uncle and she are going to have a child, their _own_ child and they're not going to want me anymore."

"Oh, Enobaria. I didn't know…" He walked up to her and tried to comfort her, but she pulled away.

"No one ever does," she whispered.

Brutus brought her in for a hug, hoping to make her feel better. "Hey, don't worry. I'm sure they're still going to want you; they're your family. They're not going to leave you behind."

Enobaria quickly whipped off her tears. Brutus grabbed both their smoothies and decided to take her somewhere special. He took her to a hidden garden in the park. This was the place where he went to when he wanted to be alone and think.

She was lying on the grass, looking up at the sky. Brutus was sitting next to her, facing the opposite direction but he was still able to look up at the clouds.

"Can I ask you something?" Enobaria looked at Brutus. "When did you become a playboy?"

Brutus sighed. He never told anyone about how he became what he was, except Marvel and Cato. "After my parent's divorce. I guess I kinda rejected emotions and then I became a playboy. I know what you're thinking, it's stupid."

"It's not stupid." Enobaria inhaled the smell of nature. "It's not stupid at all."

"And what about you?" Brutus asked. "When did you start to close up?"

"After my mom left… I was pretty disappointed," Enobaria began. "I was only six, and even though my dad tried to hide it from me, I still knew. First he said she was working late, then he began to say she was on business trips. One day, I got sick of his lies and I told him to quit it. I told him to stop running away from the truth and to face the reality that she was gone."

"Where you close to her?" Brutus interrupted. "Sorry, keep going."

Enobaria sighed. "My dad was in denial the whole time. One day, it hit him. He knew she left. Then he started to make really bad decisions. And now he's in jail."

"What does this have to do with you building up your walls?" Brutus slapped himself for interrupting her so much. But there was so much he wondered about; so much he wanted to know.

"That's the thing; I felt abandoned." Enobaria shifted to her side. "I let myself get too attached to my parents and I ended up getting hurt. So, I built up my walls and closed up after that. I know I can't be invincible; that's impossible. But I could at least try to be untouchable."

"You did all that so you wouldn't get hurt again," Brutus understood. "You don't want to face disappointment again."

She snorted. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Where you close to your mom?" Brutus asked, picking the grass he was lying on.

"Not at all," Enobaria replied. "It's weird. I don't want to be like her but I want to get to know her."

"So you just block out your emotions?" he concluded.

"Pretty much," she said. Brutus gave her a confused look. "Don't look at me like that; you do it, too."

"How so?" he questioned.

"Please, you're a playboy for god's sake. You fuck girls and you do it because sex is physical, it has no emotions. That's why you've hooked up with so many girls," she said.

"What makes you think sex is just physical?" Brutus asked. Enobaria looked down at the grass and began to tug at it. "What aren't you telling me?"

"You see, here's the thing," Enobaria began. "I don't deal with guys like you because I've been there before and I've learned my lesson the hard way and it cost me my virginity. I keep telling myself I'll never go for guys like you, but I still do it anyway."

"And you don't think I'll change for you?" Brutus asked.

"I'm being honest here; no," she honestly replied.

"Why not? You'll be surprised," Brutus said.

"I don't think I will," Enobaria told him. "Brutus, why are you so into me all of a sudden?"

"I think you are a very interesting person," Brutus replied. "And I like how you're so different from the rest."

"No one finds me interesting," Enobaria said. "I'm pretty boring, if you ask me."

"I beg to differ," Brutus said. "Come on, just give me one chance. I've agreed to be friends with you two weeks ago and we've had a pretty strong friendship so far. Why can't we take it to the next level?"

"You're very persistent, aren't you?" Enobaria knew a desperate person when she saw one. "Alright, one chance. You better not blow it."

"Thank you!" Brutus kissed her on the cheek with a smile. "And I won't blow it."

"You better not," Enobaria warned him. "And if you tell anyone about what I told you before, I'll hang you by your ears."

XXX

Brutus drove up to Finnick's house. He walked up to the front door and opened it with the extra key hidden inside the potted plant. Brutus headed downstairs to the movie room, knowing that was where the others would be.

"Guess what just happened?" Brutus asked, walking through the doorway.

"You and Delly hooked up, again?" Glimmer asked before Marvel wrapped his arm around her waist.

"Cashmere wants you back?" Finnick guessed.

"You tried the new burrito at Taco Bell?" Peeta asked. He was dying to try it, but he never got the chance to. His parents said that junk food was bad and he should just eat what he baked in the bakery.

"No, no, and… No." Brutus sat himself down on one of the seats. "I'm taking Enobaria out on a date."

"No fucking way," Cato said.

"Are you really going to go out with Enobaria?" Annie asked.

"Would I be making it up if it weren't true?" Brutus asked. He was way too happy about what had just happened fifteen minutes ago. "She gave me a chance."

"I hope you're ready to lose $350," Cato said to Finnick.

"Cause Brutus is making great progress so far," Marvel stated.

"Guys, you should stop this stupid bet before she ends up getting hurt," Annie said. "Is it worth it in the end?"

"If Cashmere gets jealous and wants me back, then yes," Brutus responded.

"Where are you guys going for your second, real date?" Peeta asked.

"We're going to the Imagine Dragons concert in three days," Brutus replied.


	9. Chapter 9

Enobaria grabbed her jacket and opened the front door to see Brutus waiting outside for her. She was wearing dark blue skinny jeans with a flowy, blue tank top. For shoes, she went with high heel boots. Brutus was wearing a white shirt with a leather jacket with light blue jeans.

"Hey, baby." Brutus pecked Enobaria on the cheek. "You ready to go?"

"Yes, and now we're calling each other couple names?" Enobaria asked as she grabbed his hand and headed to his car.

"Only if you want me to," Brutus said, starting the car and putting on his seat belt.

"I liked the name Princess." Enobaria rubbed his back with her hand as he focused on the road.

Brutus smirked. "Oh, so _now_ you like the little nickname I gave you."

"I guess it grew on me," Enobaria told him. "But we're not a couple yet, so don't get ahead of yourself. This is only our first date." She turned on the radio and pulled down the windows, just like she always did.

Fifteen minutes later, they arrived. Brutus parked his car and he opened the passenger door for Enobaria. She got out, grabbed his hand, and they walked to the entrance.

Once they were allowed in, they waited for the concert to start. They didn't like to sit in concerts, there was no fun in that. They couldn't jump and shout until their lungs hurt.

"Are you excited!?" Brutus had to shout so that he could hear her since there were so many people in one big room.

"Yeah! Do you like Imagine Dragons!?" she asked.

"I've never heard any of their songs before!" he told her. "Are they any good?"

"You're going to love them!" Enobaria assured him. Finally, the concert began.

**It's Time by Imagine Dragons**

_So this is what you meant_

_When you said that you were spent_

_And now it's time to build from the bottom of the pit right to the top_

_Don't hold back_

_Packing my bags and giving the academy a rain check_

_I don't ever wanna let you down_

_I don't ever wanna leave this town_

_'Cause after all_

_The city never sleeps at night_

_It's time to begin, isn't it?_

_I get a little bit bigger, but then I'll admit_

_I'm just the same as I was_

_Now don't you understand?_

_That I'm never changing who I am_

_So this is where you fell_

_And I am left to sell_

_The path through heaven runs in miles of clouded hell right to the top_

_Don't hold back_

_Turning the rags and giving the commodities a rain check_

_I don't ever wanna let you down_

_I don't ever wanna leave this town_

_'Cause after all_

_The city never sleeps at night_

_It's time to begin, isn't it?_

_I get a little bit bigger, but then I'll admit_

_I'm just the same as I was_

_Now don't you understand?_

_That I'm never changing who I am_

_It's time to begin, isn't it?_

_I get a little bit bigger, but then I'll admit_

_I'm just the same as I was_

_Now don't you understand?_

_That I'm never changing who I am_

_This road never looked so lonely_

_This house doesn't burn down slowly_

_To ashes, to ashes_

_It's time to begin, isn't it?_

_I get a little bit bigger, but then I'll admit_

_I'm just the same as I was_

_Now don't you understand?_

_That I'm never changing who I am_

_It's time to begin, isn't it?_

_I get a little bit bigger, but then I'll admit_

_I'm just the same as I was_

_Now don't you understand?_

_That I'm never changing who I am_

**Radioactive by Imagine Dragons**

_I'm waking up to ash and dust_

_I wipe my brow and I sweat my rust_

_I'm breathing in the chemicals_

_I'm breaking in, shaping up_

_Checking out on the prison bus_

_This is it, the apocalypse, whoa_

_I'm waking up; I feel it in my bones_

_Enough to make my system blow_

_Welcome to the new age, to the new age_

_Welcome to the new age, to the new age_

_Whoa, whoa, I'm radioactive, radioactive_

_Whoa, whoa, I'm radioactive, radioactive_

_I raise my flags, don my clothes_

_It's a revolution, I suppose_

_We'll paint it red to fit right in, whoa_

_I'm breaking in, shaping up_

_Checking out on the prison bus_

_This is it, the apocalypse, whoa_

_I'm waking up; I feel it in my bones_

_Enough to make my system blow_

_Welcome to the new age, to the new age_

_Welcome to the new age, to the new age_

_Whoa, whoa, I'm radioactive, radioactive_

_Whoa, whoa, I'm radioactive, radioactive_

_All systems go, sun hasn't died_

_Deep in my bones, straight from inside_

_I'm waking up; I feel it in my bones_

_Enough to make my system blow_

_Welcome to the new age, to the new age_

_Welcome to the new age, to the new age_

_Whoa, whoa, I'm radioactive, radioactive_

_Whoa, whoa, I'm radioactive, radioactive_

**Tiptoe by Imagine Dragons**

_In the morning light_

_Let my roots take flight_

_Watch me fall above_

_Like a vicious dove_

_They don't see me come_

_Who can blame them?_

_They never seem to catch my eye_

_But I've never wondered why_

_I won't fall asleep, I won't fall asleep_

_Heya!_

_Don't let 'em know we're coming_

_Heya!_

_Tiptoe higher_

_Take some time to simmer down, let your head down low_

_Heya!_

_Tiptoe higher_

_From your slanted view_

_See the morning dew _

_Sink into the soil_

_Watch the water boil_

_They won't see me run_

_Who can blame them?_

_They never look to see me fly_

_So I've never had to lie_

_I won't fall asleep, I won't fall asleep_

_Heya!_

_Don't let 'em know we're coming_

_Heya!_

_Tiptoe higher_

_Take some time to simmer down, let your head down low_

_Heya!_

_Tiptoe higher_

_Nobody else, nobody else_

_Nobody else can take me higher_

_Nobody else can take me higher_

_Nobody else can take me higher_

_Nobody else_

_Heya!_

_Don't let 'em know we're coming_

_Heya!_

_Tiptoe higher_

_Take some time to simmer down, let your head down low_

_Heya!_

_Tiptoe higher_

_Heya!_

_Don't let 'em know we're coming_

_Heya!_

_Tiptoe higher_

_Take some time to simmer down, let your head down low_

_Heya!_

_Tiptoe higher_

**Demons by Imagine Dragons**

_When the days are cold_

_And the cards all fold_

_And the saints we see are all made of gold_

_When your dreams all fail_

_And the ones we hail are the worst of all_

_And the blood's run stale_

_I wanna hide the truth_

_I wanna shelter you_

_But with the beast inside_

_There's nowhere we can hide_

_No matter what we breed_

_We still are made of greed_

_This is my kingdom come_

_This is my kingdom come_

_When you feel my heat_

_Look into my eyes_

_It's where my demons hide_

_It's where my demons hide_

_Don't get too close_

_It's dark inside_

_It's where my demons hide_

_It's where my demons hide_

_When the curtain's call is the last of all_

_When the lights fade out_

_All the sinners crawl_

_So they dug your grave_

_And the masquerade_

_Will come calling out_

_At the mess you made_

_Don't wanna let you down_

_But I am hell bound_

_Though this is all for you_

_Don't wanna hide the truth_

_No matter what we breed_

_We still are made of greed_

_This is my kingdom come_

_This is my kingdom come_

_When you feel my heat_

_Look into my eyes_

_It's where my demons hide_

_It's where my demons hide_

_Don't get too close_

_It's dark inside_

_It's where my demons hide_

_It's where my demons hide_

_They say it's what you make_

_They say it's up to fate_

_It's woven in my soul_

_I need to let you go_

_Your eyes, they shine so bright_

_I wanna to save their light_

_I can't escape this now_

_Unless you show me how_

_When you feel my heat_

_Look into my eyes_

_It's where my demons hide_

_It's where my demons hide_

_Don't get too close_

_It's dark inside_

_It's where my demons hide_

_It's where my demons hide_

**On Top of the World by Imagine Dragons**

_If you love somebody_

_Better tell them while they're here 'cause_

_They just may run away with you_

_You'll never know quite when, well_

_Then again it just depends on_

_How long of time is left for you_

_I've had the highest mountains_

_I've had the deepest river_

_You can have it all but life keeps moving_

_Now take it in but don't look down_

_'Cause I'm on top of the world, eh_

_I'm on top of the world, eh_

_Been waiting on this for a while now_

_Paying my dues to the dirt_

_I've been waiting to smile, eh_

_Been holding it in for a while, eh_

_Take you with me if I can_

_Been dreaming on this since a child_

_I'm on top of the world_

_I've tried to cut these corners_

_Tried to take the easy way out_

_I kept on falling short of something_

_I could've gave up then, but_

_Then again I couldn't have 'cause_

_I've travelled all this way for something_

_Now take it in but don't look down_

_'Cause I'm on top of the world, eh_

_I'm on top of the world, eh_

_Been waiting on this for a while now_

_Paying my dues to the dirt_

_I've been waiting to smile, eh_

_Been holding it in for a while, eh_

_Take you with me if I can_

_Been dreaming on this since a child_

_I'm on top of the world_

_Ohhh, ohh, oh_

_Oohh, ohh, oh_

_'Cause I'm on top of the world, eh_

_I'm on top of the world, eh_

_Been waiting on this for a while now_

_Paying my dues to the dirt_

_I've been waiting to smile, eh_

_Been holding it in for a while, eh_

_Take you with me if I can_

_Been dreaming on this since a child_

_And I know it's hard when you're falling down_

_And it's a long way up when you hit the ground_

_But get up now_

_Get up_

_Get up now_

_And I know it's hard when you're falling down_

_And it's a long way up when you hit the ground_

_'Cause I'm on top of the world, eh_

_I'm on top of the world, eh_

_Been waiting on this for a while now_

_Paying my dues to the dirt_

_I've been waiting to smile, eh_

_Been holding it in for a while, eh_

_Take you with me if I can_

_Been dreaming on this since a child_

_I'm on top of the world_

Enobaria grabbed Brutus's shirt and kissed him on the lips. He didn't pull back; he actually grabbed her by the waist and brought her closer. Her face was full of excitement and her eyes had a little gleam in them.

Once they concert was over, they were in Brutus's car, making out. Brutus sat on the driver's seat with Enobaria on top of him, both her legs on his sides while she cupped his cheek and kissed him.

Brutus pulled away. "Sorry, but don't you think this is a little weird?"

"What's weird?" Enobaria asked.

"The fact that this is our second – "

"First," Enobaria corrected.

"Fine, the fact that this is our first date and we're making out?" Brutus was a little taken aback by the fact that Enobaria would want to be with him just after one date. He was even more surprised when she gave him a second chance and kissed him right after the concert.

"Kissing is kind of my way of starting things out," Enobaria explained.

She wasn't one of those girls who had this policy that they had to go on certain amount of dates with guys before they were allowed to kiss. She thought that idea was stupid and that they should kiss whenever they wanted. "But if you think it's weird, we can always stop…"

"Don't even dare," Brutus teased, kissing her again. "I don't want to stop this."

"Good." Enobaria pecked him one last time before getting off his lap and sitting down on the passenger seat. "Drive."

"Home?" Brutus asked.

"No way, it's only nine-forty five." Enobaria buckled up. "I'm taking you somewhere special."

After Enobaria gave Brutus terrible directions like she did before when he drove her from school to her house, they arrived at a small park. She sat down on the only bench and patted the spot next to her. Brutus sat down and lifted her legs up so that they rested on his.

"Is this your special place?" Brutus asked in the darkness.

"Yes, now be quiet," Enobaria shushed him. Brutus reached into his pocket for a cigarette and his lighter. When he lit the lighter, Enobaria immediately made him turn it off. "Don't do that, you'll scare them away."

"Scare who away?" Brutus asked, receiving another shush from Enobaria.

"Wait for it, wait for it. Now!" A bunch of fireflies began to light up the small park with their green lights. They made the park look almost magical in a way. A firefly landed on Enobaria's hand. She gently cradled it in her hands and showed it to Brutus. "Here, hold it for a while."

He slowly received the firefly from her hand and held onto it, making sure not to squish it. "It tickles."

"I never took you for the one to be ticklish," Enobaria said.

Brutus let the firefly fly freely before grabbing Enobaria's hand and kissing it. "Why is this place so important to you?"

"This is the last place that my mom took me to before she left," Enobaria replied. "It's also a god place to just get away from it all. You get to be alone and no one bothers you anymore."

"Dance with me," Brutus said.

"What?"

"I said dance with me." He stood up and grabbed her hand. He led her to the middle of the garden. He wrapped his arm around her waist while his hand was in hers. "When did you start drinking?"

Enobaria laughed. "I'm not an alcoholic, if that's what you're thinking."

"I know that. I was just curious," Brutus said.

"After I got my heart broken by the asshole who took my virginity," Enobaria said. "I was so blind that I didn't know that the only reason he wanted to be with me was to fuck… How about you? When did you start to smoke?"

"The exact same time that I started to be a playboy," Brutus replied. "When my parents got a divorce."

Enobaria giggled. "Why is it that every time we hang out, we end up talking about our problems?"

"I guess it's because they make us who we are today," Brutus replied before twirling her. "If we didn't have all those problems, we'd be completely different people."

Brutus would probably be the nerd who couldn't get a date if his life depended on it and Enobaria would be the little good girl and she wouldn't have closed up, she wouldn't be so alone.

"Do you ever wish they never happened?" she asked. Enobaria thought about that possibility so many times.

Brutus shook his head. "No." Brutus believed that everything happened for a reason, whether it ended up being a good thing or a bad thing. As much as he hated how things were right now, he wouldn't change anything. He believed that everything that happened made him stronger. "How about you?"

"Same," she said.


	10. Chapter 10

"Enobaria! Brutus is here to pick you up!" Diana called.

"I'll be down soon!" Enobaria shimmied into her black skinny jeans and put on her red tank top. She then put on top her black vest. Since Enobaria and Brutus came into each other's life, she started to dress better. No more fishnets, no more miniskirts, no more trashy clothes. She also laid off the heavy eyeliner and mascara. But she still wore her high heel boots, they were her favorite.

She turned around to see Brutus staring at her with a smirk planted on his face. "Lovely way to start out my day, don't you think?" Enobaria grabbed her bag before lacing her fingers into Brutus's and getting into his car. "Princess, are we like a thing now?"

"Not exactly," she said. "We're not official yet, we've only gone on one date and that was on Saturday."

"But we kissed," Brutus stated. "Fine, we're not official yet. And it's not like I'm complaining."

"You better not be," Enobaria warned. "But are people going to know about our date?"

"You don't want people to know about us?" Brutus began to worry that if Enobaria didn't want others to know, he wouldn't be able to make Cashmere jealous.

"I don't really care," Enobaria said. "It's not like I have any friends. But you can tell your friends, or whoever you want to tell."

"You can be friends with my friends," Brutus said.

Enobaria laughed. "Ha ha, very funny. You really don't have to make your friends be my friends just because we're going out." Enobaria didn't waste her time on people who pitied her or felt like they were forced to be nice to her just because.

"I'm not going to make them be friends with you; I'm pretty sure they're going to want to be friends with you," Brutus said.

He really didn't want her to be as alone as she already was. Maybe introducing her to his friends wouldn't be a bad thing. But it would be a bad thing when he'll dump her and go for Cashmere.

"I don't know, I don't think they'll want to be friends with the lonely freak." Enobaria could just imagine how embarrassed Brutus's friends would be if they were seen with her. They'd die of humiliation.

"Hey, you won't be the lonely freak anymore if you hang out with them," Brutus smartly said. "Just try to do it."

"Fine, but only for you," she said. Even she knew that if it weren't for Brutus, she wouldn't be doing all of that.

"Hey, I've been meaning to tell you that I'm going to try to control my smoking," Brutus told her. "I'm limiting myself to only one cigarette a week."

"That's great." Enobaria was happy that he decided to control his smoking. She was also thinking of controlling her drinking. Little did she know that Brutus really was changing for her.

Brutus parked the car in front of the school and they walked hand-in-hand through the hallways, ignoring all the murmuring and pointing. Brutus pecked Enobaria on the cheek before she walked into her first class.

XXX

Clove, Johanna, Glimmer, and Annie joined Enobaria at her usual table. It was a little strange at first, since they barely even knew each other. Enobaria assumed this was Brutus's idea of making his friends be her friends, too.

"Hi, Enobaria." Glimmer sat down next to her. "I'm Glimmer."

"And I'm Annie," Annie said before giving her a warm smile.

"I'm Clove and this is Johanna," Clove introduced herself. "Katniss will join us shortly."

Enobaria was at a loss of words. "Hi… Look, if this was Brutus's plan to – "

"Brutus didn't tell us to do anything," Glimmer said. "We don't let men control us women like that. We actually came to sit with you on our own will; no one's forcing us to do anything."

"And we want to get along with our friend's girlfriend," Johanna said before taking a bite of her sandwich.

"I'm not Brutus's girlfriend," Enobaria said. "We're just going out; it's not like it's official."

And it was true; they never really said it was official. They were just going out on dates and kissing a lot; nothing weird about that. Maybe to others it might be weird, but Enobaria wasn't one of those normal girls. And to her it was completely fine.

"Got it," Annie said. "But you'll probably end up being boyfriend and girlfriend pretty soon."

"So, tell me. How was your date last weekend?" Clove asked.

Enobaria was a little weirded out that those girls expected to talk girl-talk with Enobaria so soon. They barely knew each other and they wanted to talk about their boyfriends. "Fine."

"Did you guys kiss?" Glimmer asked.

"Yeah…" Enobaria replied. "Not that I don't enjoy your company, but talking about dates and boyfriends is a little weird for me."

Katniss rushed to the table and set her food down. "Sorry I'm late; the teacher was being an asshole about me not bringing my homework. Oh, and I'm Katniss."

"I'm Enobaria," Enobaria introduced herself. "Nice to meet you."

"Thanks." Katniss sat down next to Annie. "Hey, we're going to go roller-skating with the guys on Friday after their football practice. You're invited."

"When you mean 'boys' you mean your boyfriends, right?" Enobaria asked.

"How did you all know we have boyfriends?" Annie asked.

Enobaria guessed that they didn't know that their group was the most popular group of friends in the class. Whatever they did, it just had to be repeated amongst everyone more than three times and everyone died to be able to hang out with them. But looks like Enobaria was given the easy way in.

"I've seen you guys, and you're not that subtle," Enobaria replied. "Thanks for inviting me, but I don't think you'll want to have me at your little roller-skating activity."

"We really do," Johanna said. "And Brutus is going to be there."

"Come on, you'll get to meet the rest of the group and we can bond," Glimmer said in an enthusiastic voice.

"Fine." The only reason why Enobaria was agreeing to go to the slumber party was to please Brutus. She knew that he wanted them to get along; she'd want the same if she actually had friends.

XXX

Brutus honked at Enobaria from his car to get her attention. She ran up to him and got into his car, earning a couple 'oohs' and 'ahhs' from the rest.

"Hey, babe." Enobaria pecked him on the cheek and Brutus began to drive her home. "I know what you did."

"What did I do, Princess?" Brutus asked, but he knew what she was talking about.

"Your little plan for your friends to sit with me during lunch," Enobaria reminded him. "And you're terrible when it comes to lying."

"Hey, I'm a great liar! Just not when it comes to you," he said. "And don't tell me they were terrible."

"They weren't as bad as I thought," she mumbled. Enobaria noticed that he wasn't taking her home. "Where are you taking us?"

"To my house," he replied. "We're going to have a study date."

"You know we're just going to end up making out, right?" Enobaria knew him too well to know that when he said 'study date' he'd just want to taste her lips.

"That's what I'm hoping we'll do." He parked his car into the garage and opened the door for her. He unlocked the front door and let her walk in first. Brutus took off her jacket and hung it on the hangers, then he repeated the same process with his. "Welcome to my humble home."

Suddenly, Poncho, Brutus's German pit-bull, ran up to Enobaria. "I didn't know you had a dog!" She kneeled down next to it and petted him as he kissed her face. "He's so adorable."

One thing that Brutus loved about Enobaria was that she wasn't the same as the others. Other girls, like Cashmere, would probably be terrified of his dog and scream if Poncho ever kissed them. But Enobaria didn't do that; she liked Poncho. And she didn't talk to him in a baby voice like other girls would; she talked to him like he was a human being.

"This is Poncho." Brutus kneeled down next to her and began to pet him. "Hey, buddy. Did you miss me?" But Poncho completely ignored Brutus and continued to give kisses to Enobaria. "Now I'm just jealous."

"Why?" Enobaria asked before giggling.

"Because A; Poncho likes you and he's ignoring me and B; you let him kiss you more than you let me!"

"Oh, don't be jealous of your dog," Enobaria said. "And you get plenty of kisses, anyway." She stood up and pecked Brutus's lips. "Happy now?"

"Very." He grabbed her hand and they walked upstairs to his room. He closed the door behind them and looked at her as she wandered throughout his room. It was pretty simple; queen bed, desk, chair, T.V., dressers, blue walls, beige carpet flooring. "What do you think of my room?"

"It's pretty clean," Enobaria said, almost as if she was impressed.

"That's because I cleaned it up for you," Brutus told her before grabbing her hand and brining her closer to him. "Now, about our little 'study date'…"

Enobaria grinned and kissed him, knowing what he meant.


	11. Chapter 11

Katniss, Peeta, Johanna, Gale, Cato, Clove, Marvel, Glimmer, Finnick, and Annie were waiting for Brutus and Enobaria at the entrance of the rollerblading rink. The girls practically had to force the boys to come since they were whining about the fact that they were 'tired' and their muscles were 'sore' and whatnot.

"This is stupid," Cato said. "Why did you have to drag us guys here?"

"So that you could get a chance to get to know Enobaria," Annie reminded him.

"Wait? That's why we're here?" Marvel asked. "I was told by Jo that they were giving away free pizzas." He pulled off his ever-so-famous puppy dog face. "We don't need to get to know Enobaria at all. It's not like Brutus is going to be with her the rest of his life."

"Yeah," Gale agreed. "What's the point of getting to know her if he'll just dump her once Cashmere's begging on her knees for him to take her back?"

"Enobaria has practically no friends at all and it never hurt to be nice," Katniss defended.

"And are we still going to be nice to her once Brutus and she are no longer together?" Peeta questioned.

"We're not going to think about later," Glimmer said. "And I don't know about you, but it looks like Brutus and Enobaria are going to stay together for a long time."

"What makes you think that?" Finnick asked, amused at the fact that Glimmer thought that.

"Have you not seen the way they look at each other?" Clove asked. "He's never looked at anyone other girl like that before, not even Cashmere."

"That's just because he's a good actor," Gale said before scoffing.

Johanna smacked him on the head. "Whether it's acting or not, we're going to make an effort and be nice. So please, behave."

"Fine," the boys said in unison. It was funny how Johanna could make the boys, especially Gale, do anything she wanted. She was a little intimidating from time to time, but never scary.

"Here they come," Cato pointed out as he spotted Brutus and Enobaria walking through the doors, hand in hand. They looked like a couple from those cheesy movies, but they still had a sense of reality. "Dude, she's wearing his sweatshirt," he whispered.

All the guys gasped once they saw Enobaria wearing Brutus's sophomore sweatshirt. Brutus and Enobaria walked over to them with a confused look.

"What are you guys looking at?" Enobaria asked.

"Nothing!" Gale quickly said, trying to be subtle but failing miserably at it.

"Okay then… I'm gonna go buy tickets." Brutus went to buy tickets while the others waited.

"I'm Peeta, this is Gale, Finnick, Cato, and Marvel," Peeta said. All the boys nodded their heads. "So you're Brutus's girlfriend?"

"We're just going out," Enobaria clarified, making sure he was clear on everything. "We're not official yet."

"Right…" Cato mindlessly said before Clove smacked him on the arm. "Ow!"

Brutus came back with the tickets and they put on their rollerblades. After Brutus finished putting on his own rollerblades, he put on Enobaria's on her feet because she asked him to and he liked to do it.

They all entered the rollerblading rink. All the guys were experts while the girls had trouble, so they had to lean on their boyfriends for support. On the other hand, Enobaria was doing just fine while Brutus fell on his butt every time he stood up.

Enobaria offered him a hand and he took it once he was tired of falling on his butt. "You're not that good at this, are you?"

"Nope," Brutus replied. "How come you're so good?"

"I used to figure skate," Enobaria replied. "I stopped a long time ago, but I guess I haven't gotten very rusty."

Gale and Johanna passed by them and Gale grinned. He constantly stared at Brutus's eyes, seeing if what Johanna said was true. If he really looked at Enobaria in a special way.

"Can I help you?" Brutus asked. "You've been staring at us for a long time."

"No, it's nothing," Gale said. "Nothing at all…" He rolled away with Johanna tightly holding onto him.

"Your friends are a little weird," Enobaria stated, watching Gale roll away with his girlfriend. "No offense at all."

"Yeah, I know they are." Brutus wrapped his arm around her waist. Mostly because wanted to bring her close and he also needed support. "They'll grow on you later."

Fifteen minutes later, Enobaria decided to take a break. The guys, except Brutus, decided to join her. After buying snacks, they sat on two couches and set down their snacks on a low coffee table.

"So, are you and Brutus serious?" Cato asked, opening his pack of almonds.

"We've been going out for a week and half," Enobaria said. "But we haven't really talked about being official." She took a sip of her hot apple cider.

"I'm sorry, but I have to ask," Gale began, making everyone look at him. "Where did you get that sweatshirt?"

"This?" Enobaria held up her sweatshirt. "Brutus gave it to me. I was cold one day, he let me borrow it. Then he told me I could keep it."

"And you say you guys aren't official," Marvel teased her with his mouth full of licorice.

"What's he talking about?" Enobaria asked.

"He didn't tell you, did he?" Finnick asked. She shook her head. "That sweatshirt is from the state championship from our sophomore year. It was a huge win for the school and the sweatshirt became a prized possession to each and member of the team. At least until the senior quarterback gave his sweatshirt his girlfriend. Then it became a tradition that every player had to give his sweatshirt to his girlfriend once they reached senior year."

"So to sum up all of that, Brutus considers you as his girlfriend," Gale summarized.

"How come Annie doesn't wear hers?" Enobaria asked. She'd never seen Annie wear Finnick's sweatshirt before.

"Ah, Finnick's too attached to his shirt to give it away," Marvel said, patting Finnick's back.

Enobaria smiled at the fact that Brutus gave her his sweatshirt without telling her the whole tradition thing. Brutus walked up to them and sat next to Enobaria on the sofa, who offered him a sip of her hot apple cider, which he gladly accepted. Cato nudged Brutus and motioned over to a corner at the room.

It was Cashmere and Alexander, sitting together. This was great for Brutus. He could make Cashmere even more jealous. Brutus cupped Enobaria's cheek and kissed her on the lips, hoping Cashmere would notice them.

Gale whistled at the scene in front of him and the other guys clapped at them. Enobaria, with her eyes wide open, tried to pull away, but Brutus's strong grip on her wouldn't budge. A few minutes later, Brutus pulled away with a smile on his face. He looked to see Cashmere with an angry expression looking at them. Obviously, she saw the full show.

_"__Everybody, it's time to go slow and steady tonight. Grab that special someone and lead them to the roller-blading rink right now."_

Brutus stood up, grabbed a confused Enobaria, and led her to the roller-skating rink where they began to play a slow song for the couples and they also dimmed the lights. He put his hand on her waist and the other was holding her other hand, like when the slow danced at her special place that night they went to the concert.

Enobaria was still a little shocked and confused by Brutus's sudden encounter of PDA. "What was all that about?"

"You mean the kissing?" he asked. She nodded and he said, "I guess I just can't control myself when I'm around you."

"Well, you're going to have to," Enobaria said. "I don't wanna go too fast."

That was how all the relationships Enobaria has been in, too fast. She never had taken it easy or slow before, but she wanted to try it with Brutus. After all, that's how she lost her virginity. The guy was going too fast for her and when he wanted her, she refused. Then she gave in because she knew he'd leave her. He left her, anyway.

"You're right, I'm sorry," Brutus apologized, seeing her expression when she talked about going too fast. "I won't do it again."

"It's fine," Enobaria said, looking down at her skates.

"I said I'm sorry," Brutus repeated, seeing she wasn't convinced.

"I didn't say you were," Enobaria snapped. "It's just – I don't want to go too fast, not like I have before. And I'm scared that if we go too fast, we won't really last."

"Hey, don't worry," Brutus told her. "We won't go too fast and we _are_ going to last, okay?"

"Okay," Enobaria said. A pregnant pause and then Enobaria brought up the subject on the hoodie. "Finnick told me about the whole hoodie tradition thing."

"Damn it," Brutus cursed. "I was going to tell you, really. But I was going to tell you after we become official."

Enobaria smiled. "Brutus, I think I'm ready for us to become official."

"Really?"

"Yes."

Brutus picked her up and spun her around the rink. He put her down and kissed her, this time with more passion than the other one.


	12. Chapter 12

Brutus and Enobaria went on all different types of dates once they became official. They went row boating, swimming, horseback riding, hiking, biking, shopping, to the movies, on a picnic, spy museum, park, almost everything squeezed into three weeks.

And Cashmere's blood was boiling of jealousy. Her complexion almost turned green from envy, which made Brutus smile.

Enobaria grabbed her wallet and jacket before saying goodbye to Diana, who was in the kitchen. She was reading the newspaper at the counter, sipping her English breakfast hot tea.

"Bye, Diana," Enobaria said, grabbing her car keys. "Brutus and I are going to the movies to see a scary movie. I'll be home at about one a.m."

"Eno, wait!" Diana called, making Enobaria turn around. "You haven't taken your depression pills in almost two weeks straight."

The depression pills were given to Enobaria when she was thirteen; a few years after her dad had been arrested and taken to prison. Even with her uncle's shelter, she still felt abandoned. She would eat like a bird, listen to the same song, read the same book, lie on the sofa all day. If Diana and John were lucky, they'd get a full sentence out of her at least one a day.

That was when they decided she was depressed and took her to the doctors. As much as Enobaria refused, they told her she _had_ to take the pills or else she'd die of depression. The pills didn't make her feel happy of joyful, they made her feel numb.

"I don't think I'm going to need them," Enobaria said. "I've been feeling great."

Diana was about to say she should at least take one just in case, but she knew how much she hated taking them. And her mood really has been better since she started going out with Brutus. "Alright, if you say so. Have fun and drive safely."

"Thanks." Enobaria walked out the front door, got into her car, and drove to Brutus's house. She opened the front door with the keys Brutus gave her last week when he thought she should have a copy just in case. "Brutus! I'm here!" She kneeled down and greeted Poncho.

Brutus came out of the kitchen, panting and looking like a hot mess. He was sweating, his clothes were dirty, and he looked exhausted. "Hey, Princess." He walked up to her and kissed her on the cheek, knowing she wouldn't appreciate him kissing her on the lips while he was sweating like a pig.

"Hi, Brutus." Enobaria looked up and down at him. "Are you ready to go to see Anabelle? It's gonna be hilarious!"

Brutus smiled at how she found horror movies to be funny instead of scary. She wouldn't curl up at his side and be all scared like most girls would do; instead she'd laugh about it like crazy.

"Right…" Brutus trailed off. He scratched the back of his neck. "I think I'm gonna have to cancel tonight. I made a promise to the neighbors that I'd babysit their kids tonight. Only I didn't know it was tonight until they reminded me. I'm sorry; I know you want to see it."

"It's fine," Enobaria said. "And hey, we can always watch the movie another day."

Brutus grinned at her. "You're the best." He loved how she was so understanding.

"I know," Enobaria teased. "No offense, but you look like a hot mess."

"Yeah, they're a bit of a handful," Brutus said. "I don't really have experience with little kids. And worse, they're making me look after a baby."

"I can help you babysit tonight," Enobaria said. "Do you really think I'm gonna let you babysit a bunch of kids by yourself?" She kissed him on the cheek before taking off her jacket and putting down her bag.

Brutus nodded and led her to the kitchen, where two kids were making a mess with their spaghetti and meatballs. "I don't really know what to do," Brutus said. "I don't understand why they can't just eat their spaghetti like normal people."

"Brutus, they're kids," Enobaria reminded him. "Look, I'll take care of them. Go and take a shower."

He nodded, clapped his hands to gain the kids' attention, and said, "Alright, this is Enobaria. She's in charge for fifteen minutes until I'm back. Don't do anything naughty." Brutus kissed her before he went upstairs to take a shower.

Enobaria turned around and looked at the little kids. "Hi, why don't we get to know each other? I'm Enobaria, and what's your name?"

"I'm Toby," a little blonde boy who seemed to be five years old said. "And this is my twin sister, Mary." Mary was a little shier than Toby, since she was hiding behind him and she wouldn't talk.

"Nice to meet you," Enobaria said. "May I ask why you're playing with your food when you're supposed to be eating it?"

"We're not hungry," Toby replied. "And we wanna play."

"Brutus said you have a little baby sibling, where is your sibling?" Enobaria asked, remembering about the baby Brutus brought up. Mary pointed at the living room with her little finger. Enobaria walked into the living room to see a little baby crying in its large baby carriage. She gently picked him up and went to the kitchen.

"That's Jared," Toby said. "He's only four months years old."

"Did he eat?" Enobaria asked. Mary shook her head. "Did your parents leave any milk for him?"

"A bottle should be in the large tote bag my mom left," Toby said, pointing at the tote bag sitting on the counter.

Enobaria reached for the bag until she found a bottle of already prepared milk. She began to feed Jared and he stopped crying. "I'll tell you what. If you eat your food, I'll play with you and you can have desert."

"Yay!" Toby screamed, with his hands up in the air. Toby and Mary began to eat their food, forgetting all about the mess they made. But Enobaria didn't make a big fuss about it; she'd clean it up later.

Once they finished eating and Enobaria fed Jared his bottle, Brutus came down the stairs, smelling like soap. "Hey." He kissed Enobaria on the cheek while she still held onto Jared. "They finished eating?"

"Yeah." Enobaria was a little proud of herself by having that accomplished. "I kinda promised them desert and play time if they finished."

"Okay then." Brutus took out chocolate and vanilla ice cream from the freezer and four bowls while Enobaria settled Jared into his large carriage that turned into a crib so that he could get some sleep. "Who wants chocolate and who wants vanilla?"

"We want both!" Toby shouted. "And please."

Enobaria laughed and helped Brutus serve ice cream to the little kids. Once they all had their serving of ice cream, they played, just like Enobaria promised. Somehow, they ended up playing a game that involved princesses and dragons.

Toby played the night in shining armor that was destined to slay the mighty terrible dragon. Brutus was stuck with playing the dragon in a ridiculous dragon costume, Mary was the queen dressed in a purple gown, and Enobaria was the princess dressed in a pink gown and a small tiara. Brutus thought it was cute that she played the princess, since that was his nickname for her. And of course, Poncho was Toby's steed.

"It is my destiny to slay the foul beast and rescue the princess!" Toby said with a sense of pride.

"Oh, help me!" Enobaria said, putting her hand on her forehead, acting like a damsel in distress.

"I shall rescue you!" Toby exclaimed with honor.

"Not unless you get past me!" Brutus roared, stepping in Toby's way. Mary screamed a little as Brutus began to roar. Toby stepped on Brutus's tale and made it past him. "Ow, my tail!"

Toby rushed to Enobaria's side and saved the princess. "My knight in shining armor!" Enobaria squealed. "You saved me!"

After they played, Mary wanted to see a movie. They all agreed on watching Mulan. Halfway through the movie, Toby and Mary fell asleep and the only ones awake were Enobaria and Brutus, who were snuggling on the couch, with Poncho sleeping next to Enobaria's side.

"I don't know what I would've done without you," Brutus said, bringing her closer. "I probably would've ended up pulling my hair out."

"No, you wouldn't," Enobaria laughed. "Though don't do that, ever, because I like playing with your hair. And you just need more experience with little kids, that's all."

"How come you're so good with them?" Brutus asked, a little curious. It was like she was a child whisperer. And the kids really liked her, he could tell.

"I really have no idea," Enobaria admitted. "I've never really been with little kids for much time."

"Do you think you'd be a good mom?" Brutus asked out of nowhere. Then he realized he brought up the subject on her mom. He knew how sensitive that was for her.

"Uh, I really don't know," Enobaria replied. "I probably wouldn't be a good mom. I haven't had one for almost all my life, so I wouldn't really know how to be one."

"I think you'd be a great mom," Brutus opinionated. "I know it."

Enobaria kissed him on the lips before fixating her eyes on the screen. "Mulan's the most badass princess."

"What makes you think that?" Brutus asked, surprised she brought up the movie.

"She's a fighter," Enobaria stated. "Instead of waiting for a miracle to happen like all the other girls, she actually did something about the situation. She didn't wait for her fairy godmother, or her prince to come rescue her. She didn't want to be saved. And the best part is, she faced reality. She knows life isn't a fairytale, even though the movie pretty much is a fairytale considering it's Disney."

"Do you wish your life was a fairytale?" he asked out of curiosity.

"All the freaking damn time," Enobaria replied. "But I know that's never going to happen because that's impossible."

"My life is kind of like a fairytale," Brutus told her. "I have my princess with me. But don't you sometimes wish you could be saved by your Prince?"

"It would be nice," Enobaria said before yawning. "It never hurt to just stay in fairytale land for once in a while." She leaned onto his shoulder. Then the baby began to cry and Enobaria stood up and cradled Jared in her arms. She sat back down next to Brutus once the baby stopped crying, Jared still in her arms.

For some reason, Brutus imagined his life in the next maybe five to eight years. He pictured Enobaria, holding their baby, just like she was doing now. He thought about what would happen if they stayed longer than he planned.

Did Brutus actually love her enough to imagine the rest of his life with her?

A few minutes later, the doorbell rang. Brutus stood up to answer the door while Enobaria set Jared back into his crib, or carriage, or whatever it was. Brutus came back with the neighbors, ready to pick up their children after a long night.

Enobaria gently woke up Toby and Mary, who were asleep on the couch. Toby was up and he was more than awake. Mary, on the other hand, was still sleepy. Enobaria picked her up and handed her to her father.

Toby didn't want to leave. He held onto Enobaria's leg and wouldn't let go. "No! I don't want to leave. I had so much fun!" Enobaria laughed and made him loosen his grip on her leg. "You guys are the best babysitters ever!"

After the neighbors paid Brutus and said goodbye, Brutus and Enobaria were exhausted. They collapsed onto the couch and then groaned once they realized they had to clean up all the mess they made.

"We should start cleaning," Enobaria said, standing up and tugging at Brutus's arm. "Come on, I'll help you."

"I'll go get the cleaning tools." Brutus headed over to the laundry room to look for the cleaning supplies. While he was gone, Brutus's phone received a text.

Enobaria checked to see who it was from. "Brutus, you got a text from Finnick."

"Can you read it out loud for me, please?" Brutus asked from the kitchen.

"He says that you have twenty-five days left," Enobaria said, a little confused. "What does he mean by that?"

Brutus dropped all the cleaning supplies and sprinted to her. "Oh, that's nothing. We just have this massive project due in twenty-five days." He grabbed his phone from her hands and hid it from her. "Don't worry about it."

"Okay, if you say so." Enobaria didn't really think the text was very important, and she knew she should just stay away.

"Hey, my friends and I are going to the beach this Friday afternoon. Do you want to come?" Brutus asked, picking up the mop from the floor. "You don't have to if you don't want to, but it'd be nice if you'd come…"

"I'll go if you want me to," Enobaria said. Brutus gave her puppy eyes, and she giggled. "Alright, I'll go."

"Thank you!" Brutus kissed her on the cheek before they started cleaning up the kitchen. The front door opened and in came Clara and Peter.

"What on Earth happened here?" Clara asked, looking at the spaghetti and meatballs all over the kitchen. "Hi, Enobaria."

"Enobaria and I were babysitting," Brutus said, putting down the mop. "They were a bit of a handful."

"I can tell," Peter said in a nasty voice. "Brutus, you promised to be responsible and babysit for one night. Not to make a mess around the house and let the neighbors' kids run wild."

"Okay, at first it was a bit of a mess because I was alone, but then Enobaria came to the rescue," Brutus explained. "She's amazing with kids."

"And why is she here?" Peter asked, a little angry.

"Well, we were supposed to see Anabelle, but then I forgot about babysitting so she decided to help me instead," Brutus explained, a little scared of his dad's angry expression. "It's not a big deal."

"Brutus, that's not the point!" Peter snapped. "You need to start being a little bit more responsible and I didn't give you permission for Enobaria to be at my house!" He turned to face her. "When will you just accept the fact that you're not good enough for him?"

"Peter!" Clara called his attention. Something was wrong; he never spoke that rude to anyone before. "I'm so sorry, Enobaria. I don't know what's wrong with him. I think it would be best if you left."

"No! She doesn't have to leave just because dad doesn't want her here!" Brutus decided. He walked up to Enobaria and grabbed her hand.

"Get her out of my house!" Peter yelled.

Enobaria nodded before pecking Brutus on the cheek, grabbing her coat and bag, and getting into her car. She sighed and ran her hands through her fingers before she burst into tears.

Peter just called her worthless, inferior, a nothing. She knew she was all that, but it was still harsh to hear those words. She had one good thing, something that made her happy. Enobaria knew that Brutus could do better than her, that she didn't deserve him.

She brushed off her tears before she turned on her car and headed home, trying to conceal her whimpers.


End file.
